The Ospreys will have to plunge straight into a pool of death next season as they re-enter the Heineken Champions Cup. The Swansea region – who are back in the top tier tournament – have been drawn in pool that appears about as tough as it can get as they must play holders Saracens, last season’s semi-finals Munster, and top French club Racing 92. Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke said: “Everyone knows we are up against some serious contenders there.

Geraint Thomas has started his recovery after what a team-mate described as a ‘really scary’ crash at the Tour de Suisse. Wales’ Tour de France champ escaped relatively unscathed after hitting the road on stage four and being taken to hospital.

The New Saints are going goal crazy during their pre-season build-up to European Champions League football. Manager Scott Ruscoe and his TNS players won 6-1 against fellow Welsh Premier League team Barry Town United at Jenner Park, taking their tally to 23 goals scored with two conceded in their first three fixtures. Kurtis Byrne (2), […]

What price the Ospreys or Dragons reaching the play-offs of the Guinness Pro 14 next season after a shake up in the formatting of the two conferences? The Ospreys may have been the best of a bad bunch of Welsh regional performers in the Pro 14 last season, but their reward has been to find themselves in the same conference as the two finalists from 2019, Leinster and Glasgow, and semi-finalists Ulster. The ranking is based on the two conferences being put together and ranked in terms of points. It means that Leinster, despite the fact that they are Pro 14 champions, are ranked as the second Irish team behind Munster who edged them out by a point last year.

Cardiff Devils defenceman Evan Mosey has had surgery on a serious knee injury and will miss the majority of the 2019-20 season. American Mosey suffered an injury during the World Championships in Bratislava last month and is now recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. “This is a big loss for us,” said Devils coach Andrew Lord, […]

Chaz Davies admits it has taken him longer to get to grip with his new bike as he looks forward to a better second half of the World Superbikes season. The Knighton-born rider reaches the mid-way point of the campaign at Misano in Italy this weekend eighth in the standings with points.

The Guinness Pro 14 has been re-shuffled with the two conferences re-drawn – theoretically to keep them evenly-balanced. Robin Davey believes it makes life tough for the Ospreys and Dragons next season, but that all the Welsh regions will need to hope their youngsters come of age. The World Cup will obviously dominate the start of the next rugby season, but all the top leagues will carry on regardless – meaning for the Welsh regions it will be very much a test of their strength in depth. And that is where they have often come up short as they compete against the Irish provinces with bigger budgets and the Scots who have just two regions to fund compared with Wales’ four.

Robert Page, manager of the Wales under-21 team, was upbeat after his players suffered back-to-back defeats against Albania away. Wales lost 2-1 and 3-1 in friendly matches organised to help them prepare for Uefa Championship qualifying matches starting in September. “We have a number of new players, some from our younger age groups and others […]

Geraint Thomas has been given the all-clear after crashing out of the Tour de Suisse. Wales’ reigning Tour de France champ was taken to hospital after the crash on stage four of the race.

Former Olympian Matt Elias has been put in charge of developing Wales’ emerging sprinters and hurdlers. Elias, who won a clutch of medals for Wales and Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games and European Athletics Championships, will take up his new role immediately.

Will Vaulks, an energetic, effective central midfield player, is ready to somersault past Derby in the English Midlands – and land firmly at Cardiff City Stadium. Wales international Vaulks has committed to the Bluebirds, preferring a switch from South Yorkshire to South Wales despite interest from Derby. He has agreed terms on a reported £1.5m […]

JJ Hooper, a striker who fired 19 goals in 25 Vanarama National League appearances last season, has signed for Wrexham. London-born Hooper, signed by Russell Slade when the former Cardiff City manager was in charge at Grimsby Town, has agreed a one-year contract at the Racecourse. “Wrexham is a massive club and shouldn’t be in […]

Steve Cooper has revealed he was tempted enough to leave “one of the best jobs in Europe” in order to become manager at Swansea City. Cooper – whose official title at the Liberty Stadium is head coach – made his first appearance in front of the media on Tuesday and insisted it had been a wrench to leave the FA for his first job in club management. The Pontypridd-born 39-year-old is one of only two coaches to have followed the late Sir Alf Ramsey in leading England to a World Cup triumph, a conquest he achieved in 2017 with England U17s.

Former Cardiff City chairman Tony Clemo, who was a Bluebirds’ director for almost 20 years, has died at the age of 79. The highlight of his tenure at Ninian Park came in 1988 when Frank Burrows, a manager appointed by Clemo, led Cardiff to promotion from Division Four and won the Welsh Cup. Clemo was […]

Geraint Thomas has been taken to hospital for a check-up after crashing out of the Tour de Suisse. The reigning Tour de France champ was forced to abandon the race after hitting the road around 25 miles from the finish of stage four.

Hundreds of visitors took the chance to try sailing and speedboating for little or no cost in May, at 20 clubs and centres around Wales in this year’s RYA Push The Boat Out. The month-long, national participation campaign – which aims to get more people on-the-water, having fun and getting active outdoors – inspired thousands of people to attend their local PTBO venue around the UK and ‘have a go’.

Welsh decathlon record holder Ben Gregory has been named in Great Britain’s team for the European Combined Events Team Championships Super League in Lutsk. The Birchfield Harrier will be part of an eight-strong team for the event in the Ukraine from July 6-7.

It may not look like it from the outside, but it has become Wales’ House of Champions. A single-story concrete building on the edge of playing fields, it is where the first gold medal of the 2016 Commonwealth Games was mined. The Holyhead and Anglesey Weightlifting & Fitness Centre (HAWFC) has produced a rich seam of medals for the country and celebrated its 50th year in 2018 with Gareth Evans striking that opening gold in Australia.

Six Welsh clubs finished in the top 10 after the gruelling 200-plus miles Welsh Castles Relay from Caernarfon to Cardiff. Pontypridd Roadents, Aberdare Valley, Les Croupiers, Parc Bryn Bach, Bridgend and Neath all completed the course from North Wales to South Wales in less than 23 hours. There were 64 clubs competing including Right To […]

Damian Cole has taken the lead of the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship after taking maximum points on the Rally van Wervik in Belgium. Co-driven by Dale Bowen, the Abergavenny-based six time champion lost time early on in the wet and slippery conditions, before changing the set-up of his Get Connected/Energizer-backed Ford Fiesta WRC. Pushing hard to the finish, Cole eventually finished the 12 stage West Flanders-based event in eighth position overall, and more importantly beat all his Asphalt series rivals. “This is the first time I’ve driven the Fiesta WRC since the Mewla Rally last year, and it’s much better now we’ve had the fifth injector removed,” said Cole. “The first loop [of stages] was horrendous, I’ve never driven anything as slippery as stage three. It was much more enjoyable when we had grip, and I need more practice in taking cuts on mud and grass.”